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SLOW FOOD

Name: SLOW FOOD
Author: Michael James
ISBN: 0-446-51577-9

FLAVORS AND MEMORIES OF AMERICA'S HOMETOWNS

by Michael James ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 1992

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Slow food, in James's lexicon, is ``the opposite of fast food''—not haute cuisine, though he has worked with Simone Beck (and coauthored her New Menus from Simca's Cuisine, 1979) and other famous French chefs, but ``hometown'' fare that is ``cooked at home.'' James's focus in this cross-country sampling is as much on the cooks as on the dishes they put out: The book consists of sketches of 24 people who cook, mostly at home, from Massachusetts to California, with a few recipes from each. Most of the food is homey and much of it is local; sweet-potato patties and Charleston crab soup are typical, though the menu gets a little fancier in California. No preservationist, James selects his entries on the basis of personal fancy, and he freely adapts the recipes to conform to his tastes and views. James's miniprofiles are not necessarily centered on food: He wants you to be moved by the cooks' lives. There's a cute anecdote about trying to get a publisher for Julia Child's first book, a schmaltzy entry on Patsy Cline's ``Mom,'' and notes on a few other recognizable names—but mostly James covers anonymous salt-of-the- earth types who cook at home, on farms, and in local eateries. Kansas in August has nothing on the way he plays them up.

Pub Date: May 7, 1992

ISBN: 0-446-51577-9

Page Count: 352

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.